Bridging the gender digital divide and improving girls’ self-esteem – An opportunity to partner with UNICEF
WHY: The gender digital divide and low body confidence and self-esteem amongst girls and young women Girls are a tremendous engine for transformational change. Equipped with the right resources, the world’s 600 million adolescent girls have the potential to become the largest generation of earners, leaders, innovators and change-makers. Globally however, adolescent girls are persistently […]
The GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation
The GSMA, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have announced the launch of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation. The objective of this new Fund is to help accelerate the testing, adoption and scalability of digital innovations that enable the world’s most […]
How COVID-19 has accelerated financial inclusion and reinforced the need for digitalisation
Two billion people across the globe lack access to formal financial services and approximately 90% of these live in developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated growth but also increased the danger that those at the very margins of society, could get left behind. Comic Relief and Jersey Overseas Aid share findings from a new study, […]
Failing to Win: Lessons from an entrepreneur who went ‘all in’
After backpacking across Africa in search of changemakers building scalable, high-impact businesses, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn convinced his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000 to co-found Zoona, one of the continent’s earliest fintechs. That risk paid off big time, as Zoona went on to process $2.5 billion of transactions and generate […]
Survivors of Domestic Violence Need More Than Sick Days; They Need Practical Tools to Break Free
The Problem: Today nearly one in three women and one in seven men experience violence inflicted by an intimate partner during their lifetime.[1] [2] Tragically, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders have fostered a dramatic increase to these already shocking rates of domestic violence across the globe. A variety of factors such as the […]
An innovative use of a traditional technology: how can we ensure Farmer’s Voices are heard?
More than 80% of the world’s farms operate on less than two hectares of land[1] and the smallholder farmers who work on them are essential partners in international supply chains. Yet even before the COVID-19 pandemic, smallholders were facing increasing challenges from climate change, intensive cultivation and degraded land, invasive pests and disease, poor infrastructure, […]
Five reasons why digital work may help promote inclusion of youth with disabilities
Digital jobs are opening up important new work opportunities for youth with disabilities in developing countries. The COVID‒19 pandemic has accelerated the expansion of jobs which offer flexibility, accommodations for disability and functional access for remote communities. In our new report “Digital Jobs for Youth with Disabilities,” S4YE highlights strategies that programs have used to increase inclusion of […]
Announcing the launch of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digital Urban Services
Urban services such as plastics and waste management, energy, water, and sanitation are essential to well-being and the creation of more circular economies. While the historic rise in mobile connectivity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has helped drive social impact and contribute to economic growth, billions of people still lack access to these basic […]
Digital Dividends in Plastic Recycling
Plastic is an integral and valuable part of the global economy, and is used in thousands of products that add comfort, convenience and safety to our everyday lives. It supports innovation in medicine, lightens cars and airplanes (saving fuel and, therefore, emissions), extends the life of fresh food and delivers clean drinking water to billions […]
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Needs Equality Tech
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, altering how companies, governments and individuals operate, from the way we live, work, and relate to one another, ultimately leading to societal transformation.[1] The impact […]
Gender is a significant factor in private sector and disaster management
One of the key considerations of gender in private sector disaster management is that women are overrepresented in the economic sectors that are hit hardest in disasters, as well as in the informal sector which is specifically vulnerable to disasters. Some might say the selection of career is a personal choice. But is it? The World […]
Primary health workforce learning in an era of COVID-19: is digital delivery here to stay?
Continuous professional development (CPD) is essential for clinicians and health managers responding to rapidly changing epidemiology: from the rise of NCDs to the onset of new diseases like COVID-19. The strengthening of primary health workforce capacity is a key pillar of health systems strengthening and Universal Health Coverage, and is particularly needed in resource-poor and […]
2020 Hindsight to 2021 Foresight: Driving the Inclusive Digitization of MSMEs
2020 was a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of life, from lives to livelihoods to long-term prospects. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)–the lifeblood of local communities and economies—were hit extremely hard by the lockdowns, shifts in consumer behavior, evaporation of capital and financing and disruptions to supply chains and […]
I Am Purple: Youth-Focused Gender Empowerment
I Am Purple was a youth-focused gender empowerment programme, funded by DFID, now FCDO, that used digital platforms to change harmful social norms around gender equality among young men and women in Nigeria. This 5-year programme applied social norm theory to address 3 key areas: Women’s voice and leadership Women’s role in decision-making Violence against […]
How Africa is using medical drone delivery to combat COVID-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has introduced extraordinary challenges for health systems and communities around the globe. Countries are faced with surging demand on hospitals, keeping vulnerable populations safely at home, and effectively managing scarce resources like test kits, personal protective equipment, and, someday hopefully soon, a vaccine. As policymakers search for solutions in real-time, many are […]
Disruptive, digital, and local: the new reality for Latin American MSMEs
The economic impact caused by the lack of access to physical markets during the COVID-19 crisis -also known as “The Big Confinement” – is unique and it is the last consequence of a big chain of structural commercial breakdowns; such as the contraction of global demand and a reduction in global trade. In Latin America, […]
An eye from the sky to view impact: Case of satellite imaging
Social impact measurement has significant practitioner interest from a wide range of actors including government, social entrepreneurs, third-sector enterprises and impact investors. However, the attempts at measuring social impact has been quite tumultuous, owing to proliferation in terminology and definitions, presence of diverse contexts and standards. For instance, a review of literature on social impact[1] identified […]
Upcoming Online Event: Driving Digital Equity for the Most Vulnerable
As part of Business Fights Poverty NYC Online 2020, Business Fights Poverty and Visa are convening a webinar and online peer discussion to explore how multilateral partnerships can drive digital equity for the most vulnerable. This article gives a brief insight into the importance of digital equity, and explains how a wide range of organisations can play a part […]
What are the innovations that could shape and transform the next decade?
The essential systems transformations that sit at the heart of the delivery of the SDGs will all depend on innovation: in decarbonization technologies, transport technologies, in preventative healthcare and in gene technologies, materials and materials reuse, in building design, building use and reuse, in sanitation and in the sanitation economy, in agricultural practices, food storage […]
The data revolution must accelerate food sustainability
The current pandemic has exposed how vulnerable global supply chains are to disruption. These technologies not only have the potential to push entire food supply chains—all the way from farmer to consumer—toward greater sustainability, they can also help improve resilience to future shocks. Here’s how: At the source: data-based farming If we want to continue […]